CHAPTER 13: GROWING UP and BRANCHING OUT

JUSTIN

Brian comes into the kitchen, just as I finish fixing my coffee. After kissing me for the fifth time this morning, he snatches my cup out of my hand and takes a large gulp.

“Ugh, how can you drink that?” he almost sputters, as I laugh.

“The same way you tend to drink sugar with a drop or two of actual coffee.”

“But yours is all creamy. Then again, I have a very special blend of cream that could be a substitute.”

“I thought I already drained that particular vessel this morning… three times.”

“You have a point,” he snickers, fixing his own cup of coffee and proving my point. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Interviewing assistants before I’m due at the competition. So far Miranda’s been doing the job, but with all the projects and shows coming up, including the competition itself, she’s going to need some downtime of her own. Plus she has other clients that need her too, even if she’s been devoted to seeing my career flourish since she and I started working together.”

“That makes sense, especially now with the contract for KellJam added to our schedules, you’re going to need one.”

“Yeah. I just don’t want to train anyone else. Cheryl would be perfect, but that would be stifling her own talents so I would rather not use her. I need a Cynthia of my own.”

“You do. And ironically even though she’s the COO of Kinnetik, she still manages to make my life run smoothly. The assistant I have is mostly for the business side of things, but anything personal she handles herself.”

“Are you suggesting that I get two assistants?”

“I don’t think you’re ready for that just yet, but the one you hire should be able to handle both areas of your life effectively. The only reason Cynthia still does it is because she’s a control freak and knows that if Tony fucks up, she’ll hear about it and have to fix it. Ultimately, it makes her job as COO easier so that she doesn’t have to hold interviews again.”

I laugh. “Strangely, I can see that being her reasoning. I just don’t want someone entry-level, where I have to explain every single thing to them. I don’t have the time or patience to do all of that.”

“I get it, since it’s why I was hesitant to let Cynthia fly. But I think I have a couple of people in mind.”

“Who? I’ll hire them now just so I don’t have to go through the tedium of interviewing.”

“Uh-huh, Sunshine,” Brian laughs. “Get used to it, since you’re going to be doing a lot more of it while expanding JTD. Besides, I have to call and see if they are available to meet your very demanding needs first.”

“They? I thought you said that one would do.”

“I changed my mind, thinking about all we have coming up. Plus, I want us to be able to travel together sometimes, giving us a mini-vacation while landing accounts. With the way things are shaping up, we’re sure to need a break.”

“I can see your point,” I tell him, and I can. Considering all the time we’ve spent apart in the very recent past, I’m loathe to separate again for any length of time. I suppose the separation anxiety we’re both feeling right now will dissipate at some point, but not yet. “Well, I guess you’ll get to see me all dressed up this morning, which should be a real treat for you.”

“Seeing you undressed is even more of one, I assure you.”

“No can do, old man. I have to go play mogul now. I’ll see if my new assistant can fit you in early this afternoon before I have to head to the Alwin.”

“That’ll be a tight fit.”

“It always is,” I answer seductively.

“It most certainly is, Sunshine. Still virgin tight, and absolutely delicious.” He kisses me, and already I feel my resolve weakening. There’s nothing I want more than to stay here at our house, locked away and naked. But I have to get on with setting up my side of the newly formed Kinnetik JTD.

I reluctantly pull back as I tell him, “Cheryl is flying in later today, and I want to fill her in on everything going on while setting up our workstations. As was discussed last night, we both know Lindsay is going to flout the rules as much as possible without doing anything overt to get her kicked out of the competition. She’s just that desperate to get her way.”

“This has to be about more than just managing your career, Justin.”

“It is,” I answer, and then have to make a decision about just what to tell him. I decide to give Brian all the information, so that he’s not caught off guard when she brings it up. “It’s about you, of course. But it’s also that she made promises that neither she nor her pet playboy, Simon, can keep.”

“What do you mean?”

“I found out that they already had the flyers made and an announcement of my guaranteed appearance at his gallery opening put in the papers. There’s that, and…”

“What?”

“The fact that she promised him I would be available to become his lover.”

“WHAT?!?!?!”

“Calm down, Brian,” I say sternly, while running my hands up and down his arms to soothe him. “It’s why she was so pissed that we announced our marriage yesterday. It’s further proof shoved blatantly in her face that whatever plans she had to separate me from you wouldn’t have worked. Lindsay doesn’t only see herself in the role of my stage mother, but also as my pimp. Honestly, her first attempt was with Ethan.”

“But how? It’s not like he was rich or anything.”

“He didn’t have to be rich where money was concerned, Brian. He had an abundance of affection which meant more to me at the time; it still does, and Lindsay knew that. She’s an expert at playing with people’s emotions, knowing their weaknesses and using them to her advantage. In her mind, if she could get me away from you, the payoff for her would be great. Besides she’s had years of practice in that particular market of supply and demand. It’s all about checks and balances, like the way an accountant would look at numbers, Brian. And pimp was often a role she and Michael had played with you over the years, without you even realizing it. Keeping you sexually satisfied in one-night stands would always ensure that you would still be available for them emotionally and financially.

"It must have confused them, and then later pissed Michael and Lindsay off that all I wanted from you was your love, which has always been freely given to me, regardless of any admission on your part. Everything else you gave me was simply you seeing to my physical and educational needs, which is something you would have done for any of the people you love. It was the blatant, in-your-face truth that I was so much more than a trick to you, that they couldn’t stand.”

I can tell that he’s processing what I’ve said; cataloguing every interaction with his tricks where either Michael or Lindsay were present, and putting it into perspective. My heart almost breaks for him as the resignation to the truth enters his eyes. I want to say something to comfort him, but he stops me. “I’m going to run over to Mel’s before we have to leave for the office.”

“I love you, Brian.”

“I know, Sunshine. The feeling is mutual.” I kiss him goodbye and head to our bedroom to prepare for a long work day.

BRIAN

Well, that sure was hard to hear, but even harder to accept about Michael and Lindsay. Their questionable behavior towards me had always been in the back of mind, but whenever I thought about it, I just drank more to drown out the subliminal suggestion that my two best friends thought I was a whore, and tried to capitalize on that belief for their own benefit. I mean, what did they really gain, or hope to gain from my chronic disengagement with other people? Money? Did my constant tricking somehow feed their fantasy that the less detached I stayed during sex, the more likely that I would fall in love with them someday? Hell, right now I don’t even like them! And asking those exact questions, floating around in my mind, is causing me to reevaluate and re-examine all of their interactions with me, and later on when Justin appeared unexpectedly in my life. I hate that their actions throughout the years have caused me to second-guess myself, or that somehow… yeah. It all comes down to what they both crave: Control.

Michael’s spent his entire life being inferior- first because of his inherent geekiness, and then later because of his lack of couth and education. Instead of doing things to better himself, or at least trying to, his lack of character showed itself time and time again. In retrospect, the fact that he lived in a self-imposed hetero closet for most of his adult life is very telling in and of itself. Add to that the fact that he’s too complacent and lazy for anyone to really take him seriously. It became clear to me early on that Michael needed someone to fulfill the role of father figure in his life. And whereas I was willing to do that throughout much of our friendship, with the help of Vic, once I really started to understand just what Justin meant to me, I no longer had the time nor inclination to do it anymore.

What’s funny is that I still tried because of Deb, but eventually, I had to make a choice of whether to salvage a friendship that should have ended years ago and stay stuck in a perpetual cycle of teen angst, or begin living up to my own expectations… characteristics within me that I tried to keep hidden, but apparently Justin has seen them in me all along. It was hard to break the habit of kissing Michael’s ass for the sake of peace and sanity, but I made the conscious choice to start putting my wants and needs first, including and especially not letting go of Justin in the way Michael and Lindsay expected me to. I suppose that’s the main reason they’ve joined forces now in a last ditch effort to get me back into their minimized view of just who Brian Kinney is.  

Lindsay’s control issues stem from another direction entirely. Whereas Michael’s mother was always supportive, her parents always favored Lynette, even as they either ignored or blatantly disapproved of Lindsay. She had to look a certain way, or act a certain way for them to even remember that she shared DNA with them. Their continued disregard led to Lindsay’s rebellious streak making itself known, and she became the personification of the saying ‘All publicity is good publicity.’ It’s why she’s been working so hard to get into matrimony with me by any means necessary, even if it means destroying my happiness in the process. Thinking about it as I’m walking up the long drive to Melanie’s house, I realize that she started this particular campaign back in our college years. One night of drunken idiocy on my part, almost caused me to get fucked up in more ways than a few ounces of pot and a gallon of Wild Turkey could have ever done.

Somehow Lindsay thought that I owed her for her friendship- which I really didn’t ask for, but came by way of being partnered in a lab required for us to graduate- and thought the perfect way to repay her would be by tying my life to hers permanently. As it was, bringing me to her parents’ gatherings as her beard had them thinking that marriage between us was imminent upon leaving Penn State. I’d spoken to her several times about disabusing them of their wrongful opinions, which she would always say she would do after she got a job and found her own place so she wouldn’t have to take the financial risk. Coming from the family I had, I could understand her worry when she told me that at the time, so I didn’t push my release date from the heteronormative prison she was trying to create for me. But as she kept putting me off, I started to notice how clingy and possessive she was becoming. It’s why I hurried away from her after the night of Midsummer Madness, and fucked guy after guy to the point of exhaustion and dried nuts. I didn’t even bother to stop pounding into whatever guy I was with, each and every time she made it her business to drop by my dorm room unannounced. I wanted to drill the thought that I would NEVER be the perfect fool for her through her eyeballs and into her brain quick, fast, and in a hurry!

I knew I shouldn’t have listened to her regarding that article about Justin, but as always, she made sense when presenting her argument. Unfortunately for me, Lindsay had come to know me very well throughout the years; knowing my insecurities and just what to say to get me to rethink the decisions I’ve made that I was sure were the right ones. She had also begun to know Justin on the same level, in that she knew that Justin would go to avoid an argument, and ultimately a complete break-up with me. But what she didn’t count on was that I had studied her as well, even if I tried consistently to ignore the parts of her avaricious nature that were often hiding in plain sight. I’m almost convinced that she had planned to create some drama which would have had me blaming Mel, and ending by telling her to come back down to the Pitts. Then she would have been free to, once again, try and pin her matrimonial hopes on me.

But Lindsay grossly miscalculated in all facets, beginning with Mel and I developing a friendship outside of her influence. She also didn’t think that Justin and I would stay together, or that he and I would be wise and still go ahead with our plans to ‘get married’ before he even boarded the plane to New York. In fact, if she wasn’t so sure that her goal of sending Justin away was met, she would have noticed that we’d changed his original departure date. But that was one time her innate arrogance played beautifully into mine and Justin’s hands. We’re irrevocably linked, and will remain that way no matter what nitwit schemes she and Michael come up with.

Arriving at the front door, I see the sign to go around back. Because the house is fairly large, not as much as mine and Justin’s, but close, Mel said that it’s a trek from her home office to the front door. So she’s been putting the notes on the door for when Justin and I come over. I know the kids are still at Debbie’s since Mel wanted to move into the house right away and get everything set up without having Jenny and Gus underfoot. Looking at my watch, I figure that Melanie should definitely be in her office by this time. Ironically, she’s an early riser even without having to take care of the kids.

Thankfully, other than Mother Taylor, who’s the only other person that knows that Mel’s relocated to this neighborhood, we don’t have to worry about surprise visits just yet. But I really want to talk to her about my idea for Justin’s assistants while he isn’t around. I wasn’t lying when I said that he needs to get used to interviewing. The few people he has working for him now are friends he’s met and made in L.A. and New York, so they have been with him for awhile. But with the expansion timetable being moved up, time is of the essence to have an office that can run effectively in his absence. So I need her take on the capabilities of the two people I have in mind to act as Justin’s assistants. I know what I think, but I may be a bit biased since if I had my way, I would have hired them as soon as I found out they had completed their degrees.

Hearing the dulcet tones of Marian Hill blasting, I know that even knocking Mel won’t hear me. I swear she’s so different than she was with Lindsay, and that even extends to her taste in music and how loud she chooses to play it. As much as I like bands like Aerosmith or the Rolling Stones, I could never play it at full blast, the way Mel is playing the song, “Down”. But I have to admit that the song, even with its electro-beats is pretty fucking mellow, and paints a very distinct picture as you listen to it. I think I will certainly add the artist to my own playlist... maybe even get Justin to revisit his King of Babylon persona. I shake my head of the fantasy that my mind just conjured, realizing that if I didn't, Justin and I would NOT be leaving the house today.

As, I look at the minor changes Mel has already made as she unpacked the kitchen, I’m further convinced that Justin and I did the right thing by offering this place to her. I can already tell that she’s going to be happy here since she can allow the kids to play in the yard at the playground, and still keep them within sight of the large bay windows. In fact, the entire back of the house is all windows, so it makes it possible to watch them from each of the rooms. I couldn’t explain what made me want to make sure that she’s pleased, except that in remembering my own childhood, I never wanted Gus to know the discontent unhappy parents could feel. Although he’s losing Lindsay, I have the feeling that it would have hurt him worse to lose Melanie.

Checking my watch again, I know I have to hurry this up. I really want her on board with hiring them, even before Justin has a chance to see who I want him to hire. Considering that both of the candidates have completed their pre-law requirements upon receiving their Bachelor’s degrees from Mellon, I want to know if I’m doing them a disservice by offering the position to them.

“Mel, I…” Upon entering the office, I want to immediately run out, screaming in horror!

“Fucking hell! Kinney!” Mel yells, as Leda’s head snaps up from between Mel’s spread legs. She’s laughing hysterically at the looks that must be on both of our faces, while she turns off the music. Mel is still standing there yelling at me. Oh God, did I have to know that she’s taken to shaving?! “What the hell are you doing here this early?! I was supposed to meet you at the office later if I recall.”

I close my eyes, and turn towards the open portal that was previously at my back. Leda is still laughing, but manages between gasps to say, “Calm down, Sugar Lips. Consider this payback for all the times you’ve walked in on Brian in a similar situation.”

I hear Melanie snickering behind me. “You’re right, and he deserves it for coming here unannounced.”

“I could say the same about you, you know?”

“Hey, barging in on you was never my idea. It was... “

“And we all know what a joy that was for her, and no doubt her pet idiot, Michael. They’re probably still trying to scrub out the cum stains from their drawers,” Leda drawls.

“Thank you, NOT, for that unwanted and disgusting image,” I blech.

“At least it’s taken your mind off the lezzy sex you were witnessing,” she says unashamedly. I knew there was a reason that I loved her, but right now I loathe her for putting the image of Mel spread-eagled on her desktop to the forefront of my psyche again. “So what was it you wanted before you interrupted Mel’s seventh orgasm this morning?”

“Seventh?” I couldn’t even help my shocked response, or the admiration in my voice at Leda’s busy morning.

“You’re not the only talented fucker around here, BK. And like Justin, there was certainly a very good reason that Mel has always been addicted to me, inside of the bedroom- or in this case, her home office- as well as out of it. So back to the reason you’re here, and make it fast because my Sugar is melting...”

“UGH! Stop with the innuendos already! God, where is Justin when I need him?!”

“Home, where you should be,” Melanie laughs.

“Just… just put something on, already. I can’t talk to you seriously while you’re naked. It’s a visual that may stop my dick from ever working again, and then you’ll know what it’s like to have a bitchy Justin on your hands. Which would serve you right, since I’m not sure that my corneas will recover as it is!”

“Shut up, Brian,” Mel snarks, but at least I see her grab for her robe out of the corner of my eye.

“And make sure you scrub the desk thoroughly before allowing Gus and Jenny in here… No, nevermind, I’ll get them their own computers to make sure they NEVER have a reason to sit behind your desk or… or…”

Leda guffaws again. “Jeez Mel, I think we’ve finally left him speechless.”

“I’ll send Justin my bill for a job well done,” Mel snickers. “Now Brian, what did you want?”

I peek from behind my hands as I turn around, relieved to see that she’s finally presentable enough for me to talk to her. “Justin and I talked this morning. He’s interviewing for assistant positions this morning. I’d like you to join him, especially on two of the interviews.”

“Which two?”

“I know that Hunter and Daphne have completed their Bachelor degrees, with a concentration in Pre-law.”

“I thought Daph was going to pursue medical school,” Mel says, but I shake my head.

“She was, but then a situation with a family member got a raw deal regarding a settlement from a broken contract with his agent. So she decided to become an attorney instead. Hunter went into law because of the work you did for him some years ago. Even though I know he wanted to work for the D.A.’s office sometime ago, I know since his mother’s death, he’s shied away from it.”

“Rita Montgomery is dead? I hadn’t heard.”

“Very few people know about it. Ben knows, but Michael doesn’t. After Hunter left, and then came back after the bombing of Babylon, Michael started treating him like shit, especially when he mentioned that he wanted to attend college. He took every opportunity to remind Hunter about his shortened lifespan, and told him that the best he could hope for was to live long enough to make manager at the Big Q or at the local gas station, but wasting money on college should not have ever been a goal. It was more than apparent that whatever Michael had, or thought to be received from Ben’s pension or his death, was to go for Jenny only.”

“But that’s absurd since he didn’t even pay his own child support; you did, and Ben when he was able to. Michael is such an ass! How has Hunter been getting by?”

“Instead of Hunter fighting Michael or calling the fool out for his ignorant and hurtful words, he moved out, cut all ties with Michael- and therefore Ben- to keep confusion down between the Novotny-Bruckners, and got the scholarships needed for him to attend college tuition free. He worked part-time as a Research Assistant at a local law office to cover any other expenses he had, and what he wasn’t able to do, I covered personally without him knowing. I asked the attorney he worked for to tell him it was an additional stipend given to their work-study students, and added it to his paychecks to make it look official. What I want to know is if I offer them- or more accurately, if I present them to Justin as his assistants- would we be doing a disservice to them?”

“If I’m hearing you correctly, Daphne was going to concentrate on Entertainment law, or go into the Corporate sector?”

“Her cousin plays for the Ironmen, so I would imagine so.”

“Darryl Chanders is her cousin?” Leda asks, in awe.

“One and the same,” I answer.

“There was a nasty lawsuit against his agent. The bastard was cheating Darryl, who almost ended up going to jail for tax evasion. It turned out that his agent was falsifying Darryl’s earnings before the financial information ever reached his accountant. It was to cover the agent’s embezzlement. If I’m not mistaken, Darryl wasn’t the only client the jerk was doing that to,” Leda tells the both of us.

“It’s why, as much as I trust Ted and know he wouldn’t deliberately cheat me and Justin, I still check behind him. He knows I do it, and understands that it’s my way of covering my own ass. He doesn’t mind though. In fact, I think he rather likes that I do it because it shows I’m actually paying attention during the tedious financial meetings.”

“So why are you questioning if you should offer Hunter and Daphne the jobs?” Mel asks me.

“Well, one would be working as Justin’s personal assistant, while the other would be his version of Cynthia within the office. I want to know that the money they spent on their educations isn’t going to be wasted. I would actually like for you and Miranda to train them in Entertainment Law, and Corporate Law. If they want to, they can still attend law school and Kinnetik JTD will pay for it. But I want two people, who Justin can trust implicitly and that will always have his best interests at heart…”

“Especially with Michael and Lindsay still lurking around,” Leda finishes for me. I nod my head in affirmation.

“Okay, but why then are you putting Justin through the torture of holding formal interviews for the position?” Mel asks me.

“For two reasons. The first is that Justin is expanding, and he’s going to need a full staff, similar to what I have with the advertising portion of the business. Only it's going to be geared towards servicing KellJam Studios, and perhaps other major motion picture work as well. He can’t afford to leave the hiring of his staff up to anyone else if he’s aiming to have people with his same work ethic. We all know that people tend to show one face until they get the job, and suddenly you realize that you shouldn’t have hired them. Justin needs to get a feel for the people who will be working for him, and he can only do that up close and personal.”

“And the second reason?” Leda asks. I can tell she’s fascinated by my reasoning.

“He’s co-CEO of Kinnetik JTD. He has to get used to that title, and all that goes with it, whether he wants to or- in his case right now- not. The way he handled Connor and Brett yesterday proved to me that he is more than ready to take his seat beside me instead of just being the co-owner in name only, which is what Justin would do if I let him. But as with most things that Justin doesn’t like, I have to maneuver him into a corner where he has no choice but to do it. This is certainly one of those times. So which one do you think you want to train, Mel?”

“Hunter.”

“Why?” I ask, although I think I know the reason.

“If Hunter has already worked as a research assistant, that’s over half the battle right there. It’s what Cynthia has done for you for years when it came to acquiring clients. Also like Cynthia, he can still effectively run the office for Justin in his absence, while getting all the information Justin will need during meetings with any department or client. Also, in terms of legal, if Hunter looks over the contract before he hands it over and has questions, it’s almost a surety that Justin will have them as well. So having Hunter sitting in the seat Cynthia has occupied for as long as I’ve known her will be an added bonus and increase productivity within JTD. Besides no one can read bullshit better than Hunter, except perhaps you.”

“Thanks, Mel. That was my thought, too. He might look like a marshmallow, but that boy is all vinegar when pissed off, even if he never raised his voice. He’s actually grown up to be a lot like Justin, which should have everyone fucking worried.” I laugh. “So I’ll let Miranda know that she’ll be in charge of training little Ms. Dynamite to take on the role of Justin’s personal assistant.”

Mel snickers. “That should be interesting. She’s as territorial about Justin as Michael and Lindsay were about you, only without the whole unrequited love schtick.”

“Isn’t that a bad thing?” Leda asks, but I smile.

“No. Unlike the PITA Association, Daphne values her friendship with Justin above all else. They’ve been friends since their first week of Kindergarten and haven’t separated since. They even share the same birthday. But more importantly, she absolutely HATES Michael, and is certainly not too thrilled about Lindsay for several reasons; Justin’s excursion to New York at Lindsay’s behest being the biggest one,” I answer Leda while Mel nods.

“The thing that will frustrate Lindsay the most is that while she won’t be able to play her little country club games on Justin, she’ll be a damn fool to think she can try them on Daph. She tends to forget that just as Justin grew up being fed double-talk and subterfuge in the country club, so has Daphne. Her family is on par with Justin’s in elite society,” Mel adds as she chuckles, and I know immediately where her mind has gone.

“Lindsay’s is just a step above the bottom of the barrel, and Daphne won’t hesitate to remind her of it,” I laugh as well, already seeing Lindsay being verbally handed her ass after trying to intimidate Daphne.

There has always been a side to her and Justin that very few but the truly deserving only get to see. It's the malicious streak which allows them to look completely innocent, while delivering a hard dose of reality that the receiver would rather not be known or remembered. That said, one would think Lindsay would have learned not to fuck with Justin last night during the press conference, but no! She just must keep pressing her luck until there is nothing and no one left to help her save face. She completely incapable of just slinking back off under the rock of mediocrity she keeps trying to escape from, or to drag me down to. So, once again, Lindsay is about to learn her true place and purpose, but this time it’s going to be more public than she ever bargained for.    

“And here I thought this competition was going to be boring!” Leda exclaims laughing. “Perhaps we should keep a couple of barf bags on hand.”

“Barf bags? What for?” Mel asks.

“So that when Lindsay begins to choke on her own malevolence, none of us will have to clean up behind her. If what you said about Daphne’s protectiveness of Justin is true, I have a feeling that it won’t be too much of a stretch to have Lindsay also choking on her teeth. She tends to push people to want to punch her in the mouth.”

“Sure she does, but let’s at least wait until the entire audience of Skin Wars isn't there to bear witness. Above all else, Justin has to remain professional and above board,” Mel points out.

“I’ll keep a tight rein on him… and on Daphne. Besides, between she and Justin, there’s never any telling when they will strike back. And when they decide to, it will be worth the price of admission. I promise.” I rub my hands, suddenly anxious to install both Hunter and Daphne in their new positions within Kinnetik JTD.